Carlos Arroyo has told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he will fly back from his native Puerto Rico on Thursday to sign a deal with the Heat. Arroyo started Miami's final 21 regular-season games and all five playoff contests at point guard.

"Looking forward to a championship!!!" Arroyo wrote in an email to the Sun-Sentinel. "Excited!!!!"

He will join Mario Chalmers as Miami's second point and become the team's 13th player under contract.

Free-agent forward Jerry Stackhouse is interested in playing for the Heat. Stackhouse played well for the Bucks last season.

"When you look at a situation with Miami now and having to try and fill their roster with minimum-type contracts," he said recently on NBA TV, "I would take one of those minimum contracts if they're available."

Last year the veteran swing joined the Milwaukee Bucks at mid-season. Stackhouse - along with John Salmons who was acquired at the trade deadline - changed the Bucks' season by providing much-needed scoring.

The former All-Star is still capable, and could thrive as a bench piece supporting Three Kings Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade.

Best of all, he'd come cheap, and play for the minimum. So what does Heat GM Pat Riley have to lose?

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent forward Juwan Howard.

“This is a great addition for us,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “We feel that Juwan’s ability to play both the four and five spot will be complimentary to what we have put together. He also gives us incredible professionalism and is a perfect fit behind Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.”

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: History is repeating itself with Juwan Howard and the Miami Heat.

Only this time, they`ll be a happy ending.

In 1996, Pat Riley nearly signed Howard to a massive seven-year, $100 million contract, hoping he would star in South Beach. However, the deal fell through, and the power forward re-signed with the Washington Bullets/Wizards.

Today, Riley and the Heat officially landed Howard, except the circumstances and context are very different. The former All-Star inked a minimum contract and will back-up starters Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.

Howard is well equipped for a supporting role. Last year, he filled in admirably for the Portland Trail Blazers after Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla went down with injuries.

Expect him to defend, rebound, and practice hard in Miami. He’ll also provide a veteran sounding board for the Three Kings of Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade when things get rocky.

Clearly, Dwyane Wade isn’t troubled by the criticism, backlash, and negative publicity about how he handled free agency, or the conspiracy theorists claims that Bosh, James, and Wade had planned for years to play together with the Miami Heat.

Bottom line: this trio will have a giant bulls-eyes on their backs. They will be public enemy number one. They will be the team everybody loves to hate.

Instead of shying away from this, instead of downplaying, instead of worrying, Wade is embracing the situation.

Of course, he’ll be booed by fans of the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. They’ll reign down their frustration on Wade when Miami comes to the United Center or Madison Square Gardens.

Why worry about being the villain? Why not enjoy the situation and just win games?

Michael Jordan talked about the decision made by LeBron James to sign with the Heat, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry (Bird), called up Magic (Johnson) and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,'" Jordan said on Sunday. "But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

Yesterday, Michael Jordan told the world he would never, ever have joined forces with fellow greats like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson because he wanted to beat them.

His feelings are fair, but unrealistic.

Jordan never had the options Chris Bosh, LeBron James, or Dwyane Wade had. After his rookie contract expired, MJ signed an eight year, $25 million contract that negated any chance of partnering with an all-time great.

And when he finally hit unrestricted free agency, Bird and Magic had both retired, so a partnership was impossible.

Jordan was also the game’s undisputed greatest player. There was no parity between superstars like today. In fact, his greatest challenge might have been from teammate, top 50 all time player, and Hall of Fame swing Scottie Pippen.

Then there’s the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The old CBA allowed teams a massive advantage in signing their own free agents. For instance, Chicago inked Jordan to several one-year contracts for upwards of $30 million.

The culture of the NBA was different, too. Teams wanted to win now, and the notion of cutting cap space for three years to sign a trio of superstars was unheard of. In fact, it didn’t happen.

Of course, Jordan has the right to say what he wants and thinks. It’s not necessarily accurate, though.

I can’t tell you how ugly it got in Shaq’s final weeks in South Florida. You can’t un-burn those types of bridges. Now, if the Heat was desperate for a man in the middle, it might have been a different story. But, clearly, Pat Riley sees plenty of workable non-Shaq options.

Shaquille O’Neal –the free agent Hall of Fame center – is learning this the hard way. The larger than life five-man burned his bridges with the Miami Heat halfway through the 2008 season, which led to him being traded to the Phoenix Suns.

On his way out the door, O’Neal insulted Heat coach and legend Pat Riley. There were also reports of a dispute with resident superstar Dwyane Wade.

So it’s no surprise ‘Riles’ went in a different direction this summer, signing four centers – Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, and Dexter Pittman – not named O’Neal.

After all, Miami has enough leaders: Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Wade. They don’t need a fading veteran, O’Neal, who will demand first option touches, spotlight, and treatment.

Penny Hardaway, the man who inspired original Nike puppet in the late 90s "Lil Penny," announced he is interested in competing for a role with the Miami Heat Thursday on an internet radio show called "The Bottom Line Sports Show."

"Mentally I was retired and physically I was retired. I was playing recreational ball," Hardaway said. "But when the decision happened with Chris Bosh and LeBron, I felt like I could really be good in that system."

"LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, guys like that understand what Boston's defense was about," Wade said. "Their defense was built on not letting one player beat them. You either settle for the outside shot or you pass to your teammates. LeBron had one bad game in the playoffs. Other than that, he did what he could do with the defense all watching him."

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call ... The Miami Heat's three superstars must do exactly this: they must have each others' back.

After their free agent coup, South Beach's basketball team will be public enemy number one, sporting a bulls-eye the size of North America all season on their black, red, and white uniforms.

So Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade have to support each other because the pressure will be intense. Night-in, night-out, the Heat will face a motivated and energetic opponent.

These three will also understand the scrutiny each will face in specific markets. For instance, Bosh and Wade will get the backlash LeBron will experience when Miami is in Cleveland. Both will face - to a small extent - something similar when Miami rolls into Toronto and Chicago.

Bosh, James, and Wade are close friends. They'll need this friendship next year.

In fact, you have to admire the superstar’s failed attempts at running a little smokescreen interference and deferring public enemy number one status to the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Yes, the purple-and-gold is still the team to beat. After all, to be the champs, you have to beat the champs.

No, the Miami Heat – with the controversial way The Big Three of Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade were assembled - is the team everyone will be shooting for.

No doubt about it.

Everyone - your granny, pastor, milkman, and even dog - has an opinion on The Great Free Agent Chase of 2010, culminating in LeBron James breaking up with Dan Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and state of Ohio on national television.

Very quickly, the Heat has become the NBA’s undisputed villain in a plot that’s part Shakespeare, part Vince McMahon WWE.

If Wade thought the attention was bad in 2007 following their NBA Title win, then he hasn’t seen anything yet.

The veteran center, who started playing for Cleveland in 1997 and has never suited up for another NBA team, expects to sign a two-year contract with the Heat later this week, agent Herb Rudoy said Tuesday. The two-year deal would come with a player option for the second season, Rudoy said.

(No word on whether Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert will write a letter about Ilgauskas swapping the cold of Ohio for the sun of Florida.)

This move makes sense for a few reasons:

1) Ilgauskas can still play. He’s massive. He’s skilled. And he can take opposing fives out on the perimeter with his range.

2) With a true centre like ‘Big Z’, Bosh will get significant minutes at the four-spot, his natural position. This will surely please ‘CB4’, who doesn’t want to battle the beasts of the Eastern Conference.

3) Ilgauskas has chemistry with James on-and-off-court. The veteran Euro will help ease the transition to Miami for his younger friend, especially with all the hoopla surrounding his free agency.
--Oly Sandor.

"The gritty power forward told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday that he is spurning more lucrative offers to stay with the only team he has played for in a seven-year career.

Shortly after ESPN.com reported Monday that the Denver Nuggets had joined the Dallas Mavericks in the bidding with a strong offer, Haslem sent an e-mail to the Sun-Sentinel reading: "Turned down full mid level from Dallas and Denver. See u next season."

This will likely be Derek Fisher's response to the star-studded Miami Heat putting the full court press on him over the weekend.

After all, oil slick GM and soon-to-be coach Pat Riley showered him with praise in their meeting. And LeBron James, in his first act as a member of the Heat, greeted him at the airport.

However, there's a problem: Miami has zero cap space. After their recent spending spree, they could only offer Fisher a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum.

Of course, the veteran guard has a pretty nice offer in his backpocket. The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are offering a two-year, $5 million pact.

So why would Fisher leave the purple-and-gold and pass on a chance at three-peating? Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade aside, why would Fisher uproot his family from his home in California for less money and term?

Throw in Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom, and you get the sense Fisher will soon be re-upping with the Lakers.

Frankly, this is the way it should be, the way it should end for the 36 year old combo guard.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Expect the Orlando Magic to match the Chicago Bulls’ offer to JJ Redick – no matter how cumbersome it is for their cap situation.

After all, Magic GM Otis Smith and Coach Stan Van Gundy both like Redick. They like his commitment. They like his outside range. They like his work ethic.

Ideally, Smith and Van Gundy would like to start Redick and trade the underachieving Vince Carter. And this is their opportunity.

The Magic will probably match the Bulls’ offer, while simultaneously exploring ways to move Carter. Let’s be clear: teams would only have interest in VC because he has two years left on his contract, the second year being a team option -which is the equivalent of an expiring deal.

Of course, there’s also this newfound rivalry brewing in Florida.

The Magic are probably feeling a touch threatened by the Miami Heat spending the GDP of Botswana on Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade.

Smith and Van Gundy certainly went on the offensive taking public shots at Bosh and James. So the Magic must back-up their trash talk by keeping Redick and remaining active this off-season.

We all saw LeBron James announce Miami. The moment will always be known as “The Decision.” To basketball purists, we might see this as “The Moment where LeBron threw everything away.” He had the NBA world at the palm of his hand and threw it in the trash. I knew he was going to leave, but LeBron didn’t have to do the state of Ohio dirty like that. Wow! Did this guy just do that? I’m flabbergasted. I am trying to understand this entire free agency period and the Big Network’s exploitation of Ohio.